Why House Value Websites Don’t Work for Sellers in Texas

There are a number of nationally recognized websites that offer homeowners an indication of their home’s current market value. Sites like Zillow often use publicly available comparable sales data and tax records along with a computer model to provide homeowners with an indication of their home’s selling price. This system might work well in the 37 states that have full disclosure laws where everyone has access to home sales data, but what about the other 13 states that don’t make this information available? Seven of those states disclose transfer tax data from which one could back up a sales price using the transfer tax rate and some simple math. This leaves six that do not disclose any home sales data. What does a seller do in these states?

Well, he or she can still go to the aforementioned sites and request a value, but those values ​​will probably be pretty inaccurate. A survey conducted by Zillow itself using data from September 2010 showed that, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, values ​​provided by Zillow’s system deviated by more than 20% about one-third of the time.

Houston had a similar percentage. Another independent study from the University of Texas – San Antonio indicates that “Zestimates,” as Zillow refers to its value analysis, are overestimated 80% of the time, leading a potential seller to overvalue their home the most. part of the time. This has a number of negative consequences beyond just a house sitting on the market with no offers. If an offer is made and accepted at that high sales price, the home may not qualify for mortgage financing when the appraisal is low.

There are six states with statewide privacy laws: Alaska, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Utah. Since most homes are sold through a real estate agent, sales data for these homes is collected by the local Multiple Listing Service. Because the MLS is the sole property of the local association of realtors, the data is not publicly available unless that association chooses to release it. So, in states like Texas, it’s even more important to use a local agent who has access to the MLS, or a Realtor®-owned site like www.MyHoustonHouseValue.com, to get a home competitively priced.

The momentum seems to be on the disclosure side as more and more states have required public disclosure of home sales. In fact, there may come a time when Texas homeowners will have the ability to log into a computer system and access sales data through public records in the same way that tax records can be accessed. about the property. However, we may also find, as homeowners in other states have, that the systems that provide this information are not very user friendly.

Additionally, the unique characteristics of each home make it challenging for someone without an in-depth understanding of real estate markets to establish an accurate home price, particularly in a declining market. Plus, the extensive marketing expertise offered by an experienced and licensed Texas real estate agent makes the associated commission well worth it. A 2010 survey indicated that the average home sold through an agent sold for $193,300, while the typical property sold without the assistance of an agent sold for just $140,000. This difference is far from negligible to most people and underscores the importance of professional advice.

The Internet is an incredible source of information, but be careful when using it to replace professional Realtor® advice on your biggest investment, as it could derail your home sale.